weaving

The situation on the battlefield changed dramatically within a quarter of an hour.

After defeating a new wave of starving civilians, the infantry of the Brave Army did not retreat back to their own lines as usual, but continued to advance towards the enemy's defensive line in a well-organized formation!

This unexpected change caught the rebel soldiers completely off guard.

No one expected that the government troops, who were outnumbered and even at a significant disadvantage, would dare to launch an attack on the rebel army, which outnumbered them several times over.

"What's wrong with the officers and soldiers? Are they courting death?"

"Is he crazy? Why is he rushing up here to his death?!"

"They've been fighting so hard they've gone mad. Isn't this just handing us military merit?"

"If you ask me, we still need to be careful. Didn't you see that those dog soldiers are all wearing armor?"

One of the bandits, wielding a hammer, laughed and said, "Who cares? No matter what kind of armor they're wearing, one blow from this hammer and I guarantee they'll be dead."

The bandits, watching the charging Yongyi Army infantry, were discussing amongst themselves, completely unaware of the gravity of the situation.

…………

Not to mention the lack of vision and understanding among the bandit soldiers, even Yuan Zongdi and others who were commanding at the front line were unaware of the danger.

"What's going on?"

Xin Sizhong was quite meticulous. He kept a close eye on the changes on the battlefield and was the first to discover that after the Yongyi Army drove back the starving civilians, they did not retreat to their positions to consolidate their defenses, but instead continued to advance towards their own lines.

He pointed towards the battlefield and said urgently, "General Yuan, the government troops are attacking!"

Yuan Zongdi had actually seen it, but he didn't pay much attention to it. He said in a deep voice, "Erhu, take Michang to see what tricks the government troops are up to."

"Yes."

Liu Tichun didn't waste any time. He clasped his hands in acceptance of the order and then hurriedly left with Li Michang.

"Have the officers and soldiers gone mad?"

Liu Rukui grumbled, "With such a small force, they're taking the initiative to attack? What are they up to?!"

"Humph."

Yuan Zongdi snorted coldly and said, "Who cares what he's up to? We'll just deal with whatever comes our way. What trouble could he possibly cause?"

"As the military advisor Song often said, 'If you have ten times the enemy's strength, surround them; if you have five, attack them.' Now, we haven't even fought our way through, but the government troops have already attacked us first."

Ma Shiyao recited Song Xianze's words and laughed, "Interesting, damn it, that's really interesting!"

"Okay."

Yuan Zongdi stopped their conversation and said loudly, "No matter what kind of trouble the officers and soldiers are up to, you all return to your own positions, keep a close watch, and do everything according to military orders. Do not launch any attacks without authorization."

"Yes." The leaders responded almost simultaneously.

Don't be fooled by their seemingly carefree and playful interactions when they're not in a serious mood. They are actually very disciplined and always obey orders when they are given. This is one of the reasons why they have been able to repeatedly defeat the government troops.

…………

The Yongyi Army didn't have many infantrymen to begin with; they were mostly soldiers from the Yanhe Battalion brought by Chen Zhong, with some cold-blooded assassins from the wagon battalion mixed in. Even so, their numbers didn't exceed three thousand. But even so, dealing with the starving civilians forced to harass them by the rebel army was like using a cannon to kill a mosquito—a huge waste of resources!
After repelling a new wave of starving civilians, when they advanced to within two hundred paces of the rebel army's defensive line, the entire infantry formation immediately halted as a rapid war drumbeat sounded.

"Order all infantry to form two separate formations, with me as the center line, to the left and right. This will clear the way for the main force to advance."

At Chen Zhong's command, the entire infantry formation quickly split to the left and right, making way for the central passage. Then, the infantry formation that had already been divided to the sides split into several smaller formations, creating narrow passages that allowed two people to walk side by side.

The first thing that catches the eye is a row of dark gun muzzles, followed by brave and resolute musketeers in red uniforms, striding forward with their muskets held diagonally upward. After passing through the infantry formation, they quickly reformed into a three-tiered horizontal formation.

"Boom! Boom! Boom!..."

"Ta Tata..."

The musketeers, holding their muskets, marched forward in perfect unison, each step precisely on the beat of the drums. Though thousands marched at the same time, the sound of their steps was as uniform as that of a single person.

This is the power of practice!
Lin Fangping advanced to the middle of the first rank of the musketeers. He glanced left and right and shouted, "All musketeers, maintain perfect formation! Check your muskets while marching! No one is allowed to fall behind!"

The officers on either side immediately repeated Lin Fangping's military order loudly, and so on, until it was quickly relayed to every musketeer.

"Here!"

As the final command ceased, all the gunners chanted "Yes, sir!" in unison, their voices thundering and soaring into the sky!
"Gunners, maintain formation and advance!"

"Hurry! Hurry! Hurry!"

…………

When Liu Tichun brought Li Michang to the front of the battle, the Yongyi Army's musketeers were already a hundred paces away. If they had gone another twenty or thirty paces, they could have opened fire on the enemy's defensive line.

"Form ranks, raise shields, front row, raise shields!" Liu Tichun shouted.

He then demanded, "Gunner...where is the gunner? How much longer until we can fire?"

"Reporting to General Liu, the gunners are loading, and... it will be a while before they can fire," a junior officer from the artillery unit shouted.

When the rebel army's artillery battalion was at Daguantou, it was bombed into a mess by Wei Zhi's strategy and suffered heavy losses. Although it has recovered slightly, it is still not as good as before.

Even so, the newly formed artillery battalion of the rebel army was deployed in the Xiangong Temple area. At present, only some light cannons were transported to the front line of the rebel army. The large cannons and heavy cannons had not yet been transported.

It is precisely because there are so few cannons that we dare not use them casually.

According to the habits of the rebel army's artillerymen, they would usually load the cannons and gunpowder into each cannon before the battle, so as not to load them too early, which would be detrimental to firing in wartime.

The original general offensive was scheduled for the day after tomorrow. Even though it was just changed to tomorrow, a day earlier than originally planned, it was still too early to load the ammunition. So all the cannons were empty.

Now, the sudden attack of the Yongyi Army infantry caught everyone in the camp off guard. The gunners hastily received their orders, and in their panic, they slowed down the loading process even more. It was already past the Yongyi Army's advance when they had not yet finished loading the guns.

Liu Tichun glared at the junior artillery officer, then glanced at the gunners loading the guns not far away, and could only shake his head silently.

"Li Michang, you command the infantry to form ranks and strictly guard the defensive line. Do not attack without my order."

"Yes, General Liu."

"Archers...archers, get ready!" Liu Tichun shouted again.

The shield bearers in the front row immediately raised their various shields. Although they were looking at the soldiers in front of the barricades, they didn't feel much fear; many even felt a little excited... (End of Chapter)